Tallahala Creek
Video: Great Blue Heron launches at Tallahala between Hwy. 42 and Thomas Creek Rd.
Tallahala Creek has it headwaters in the backwoods of Jasper County between Montrose and Rose Hill, MS. It meanders a long 120 miles until it empties into the Leaf River near Mahned, MS. It is only navigable by canoe or kayak on the southernmost portion of the creek and has only a few accessible landings and even fewer public boat ramps.
According to Herndon, the creek is navigable from Highway 29, east of Ellisville to the Moselle-Ovett Road, but is fraught with shallows and logjams. (Herndon, Canoing Mississippi (2001). We can confirm that it is very navigable from the Moselle-Ovett Road until it empties into the Leaf River.
We have only paddled four sections of the creek with mixed reviews. By far, our favorite section is from the Moselle-Ovett road bridge near Union Falls to the public boat ramp on Morriston Road. In fact, this is probably my favorite run of all of the seven rivers as will be described in more detail below.
The confluence of the Tallahala and the Leaf River near Mahned, MS is also a beautiful run with a stark contrast between the shallow gravely bottomed Tallahala and the deep, sandy Leaf. The meeting of the two rivers forms a sandy bar point that is an excellent place to stop and take in the natural beauty of the two rivers.
The Tallahala was formerly known as an excellent fishing river with tales of plentiful large fish. In a stopover at a country store near the River Road bridge over the Tallahala, I was treated by the clerk with tales of schools of large fish he used to see at the mouth of a creek that flowed into the Tallahala on property owned by his grandfather. But, according to the clerk there was a spill on the river emanating from the old Masonite plant that killed "millions" of fish. He said he believed that the river had been cleaned up long since, but that the fish population never got back up to its previous glory.
While the past pollution of the Tallahala by the Masonite plant, and two huge sewage lagoons operated by the city of Laurel is well know by locals, the conditions have been reportedly significantly improved, giving the creek a clean report by the DEQ.
While landings are often primitive and may require some effort, we have found this river to be well worth the effort, especially if you are looking for the virtually untouched beauty of a wilderness experience.
Click Below for NOAA Tallahala Creek Water Level at Runnelstown, MS
LANDINGS
Ovett-Moselle Rd. to Morriston Rd.
This run on Tallahala Creek is probably my favorite of all the Seven Rivers. It has everything. beauty, wildlife and white water. It begins at Union Falls, a small waterfall and swim hole at Union, Mississippi. Union falls is on Woodard’s Mill Creek which empties into the Tallahala on the north side of the Ovett-Moselle Rd. bridge that crosses the Tallahala. People sometimes jump into the river from the bridge or attach a rope and swing into the river here. However, this can be a dangerous spot, because the river can be shallow here. Several people have lost their lives jumping from the bridge into the river here over the years, the last one being in 2018.
On the west side of the Ovett-Moselle bridge, there is a gravel circular side road that you can use to park and walk you canoes and kayaks down the fairly steep sandy bank to a natural landing.
The trip down to Morriston Rd. starts out slow-moving through fairly still water. It is more like a narrow bayou than a river. It is very scenic with lots of Cypress trees – really nice and relaxing. We have observed various fish, Great Blue Herons, White Herons and a King Fishers. The river was pretty deep most of the way, and there are lots of good fishing holes. I took my fishing rig on one of my trips down this river and hooked into a nice bass.
About 2/3 of the way on this section, there is a good ¼ to ½ mile stretch of the river that has 5 or 6 sets of rapids and/or fast water. It is a really fun break from the slow moving water. Depending on the water level, one of the rapids becomes a fun little waterfall that spans the entire width of the river. After this stretch of rapids, the river returns to its slow, scenic meandering.
The take out is a public concrete boat ramp at the Morriston Rd. bridge. The take out has a nice driveway and lots of parking space. However, this boat ramp is well-used, and can become crowded during peak fishing season.
Click Here For Video
Morriston Rd. to Runnelstown
We finally got to paddle this section of the Tallahala on March 4, 2023 with a group of Seven Rivers members. It was our first trip this Spring, and boy did we pick a perfect day. We put in at the concrete boat ramp on Morriston Rd. and exited on Hwy 42 at Runnelstown. The landing at Runnelstown has a long dirt (and sometimes mud) drive and a fairly steep bank down to the river. We logged 6.44 miles on my Paddle Logger which took us 3.08 hours, including numerous stops on sandbars to pick up trash and, play, swim and eat lunch. The weather was sunny with a high temperature of 74 degrees with a slight breeze. The water level was approximately 7.2 feet near Runnelstown.
The terrain of the river was excellent with numerous beautiful white sandbars and gravel bars. There were lots of good picnic areas and potential campsites. One of the sandbars hid a beautiful small stream with about a 6 ft. high small waterfall. (see pictures below)
We had a real treat with wildlife, observing Great Blue Herons, Kingfishers and hawks that were out in abundance. A highlight was when a very large hawk took a dive and plunged into the river just ahead of us and came out with a fish so large it could hardly get it up into the air.
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Runnelstown to Thomas Church Road
To Be Added.